


mlkvchLP

by mckvch (RaiseYourVoice)



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - YouTube, Barista Ian, Game: Until Dawn, Gamer Mandy, Gamer Mickey, M/M, Student Ian, Video & Computer Games, YouTuber Mandy, YouTuber Mickey, canon typical language
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-26
Updated: 2016-08-26
Packaged: 2018-08-11 04:11:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7875688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaiseYourVoice/pseuds/mckvch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em>Mickey: No! No, no, no! That's NOT how you're supposed to-- Mandy, STOP IT!! Oh my god...</em>
    <br/>
    <em>Mandy: What's your problem? It works, so what's the big deal. Scared I'm faster through this level than you?</em>
    <br/>
    <em>Mickey: Bitch, you wish! Nobody ever tell you that you don't rush through a game with fucking monsters that react to movement, sounds and light? This just screams to get your face eaten off by one of those things. And then you're gonna blame me when you get scared shitless again when--</em>
    <br/>
  </p>
</blockquote>Mickey couldn't even finish his sentence before, like he predicted, a monster popped up out of nowhere and all but tore Mandy's character apart with some fucking disgusting squishing, ripping-of-flesh noises. Ian pulled a disgusted face and still couldn't help but snort a laugh because Mandy had let out a pretty high pitched scream at the monster's appearance and her brother almost fell off his chair because her reaction startled him - and probably damaged his hearing on one side in the process, if the way he was rubbing his ear was any indication.
            </blockquote>





	mlkvchLP

**Author's Note:**

> It's been quite a while since I started writing this and I can't tell how fast the second part will be up but I wanted to split it anyway so I decided to finally upload part one. I obviously started writing this during a time where Until Dawn was just out and basically ever let's player was playing it.  
> If you don't know the game, I don't think it's necessary to understand this oneshot and if you want to watch a let's play (it's a very cool game but horror and a little gory depending on how well the player does so...be warned), I can always recommend jacksepticeye and Markiplier. If you prefer someone less noisy, though, go visit Cryaotic or HarshlyCritical :)

Ian came home from university pretty late this day and before even shrugging off his jacket he went straight to his laptop to start it. He was probably a little bit addicted to a certain channel on YouTube and the first thing he did every day after getting home was check for new videos - admittedly it was also the first thing he did after getting up in the morning but nobody had to know about that. While the laptop started up, the redhead finally got rid of his jacket before rushing into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water and a sandwich from the fridge. When he got back and plopped down in his desk chair, the laptop was ready to go and Ian clicked on the browser symbol. He took a bite from his sandwich while waiting the short moment for the browser window to pop up and one of his start-up tabs was, of course, YouTube. Ian couldn't keep his face from breaking into a huge grin when he clicked on his all time favourite channel and saw that _mlkvchLP_ indeed updated the channel.

Ian had never heard of _let's plays_ before and had only stumbled upon this genre of videos through a fellow student who was totally into it and made him curious to look it up. He would have never imagined to actually like watch other people play and, most of the times, comment video games. The redhead had played a few games himself growing up but he never got into it too deep and had always preferred to watch his older brother Lip because he managed to achieve stuff without dying at every chance these was. Ian had to admit, watching let's plays was pretty much the same thing as watching your siblings play games - the only difference was, that you weren't sitting in the same room and sometimes you couldn't see the other person. But it seemed like many had come to take up on the habit of having a video of themselves on the corner of the game video - he was pretty sure by now that this was called _face-cam._

The first few people he watched were boring as hell, honestly. He didn't give a fuck about the games and the people had lame, forced commentary. He was about to give up on the whole adventure into this part of YouTube when it suggested another video. The thumbnail showed a face-cam of a boy and a girl and he didn't know what had made him click on the video but it was the best decision he made in quite a long time. The user was called _mlkvchLP_ and it didn't take long to finds out the two were brother and sister - the bickering was obvious enough. The girl, Mandy, was the one playing a horror game that her brother, Mickey, obviously knew already and therefore was being a little shot about it. He made sound into the microphone, burst out laughing every time Mandy jumped even the slightest bit and just seeing the guy enjoy himself so much got Ian hooked immediately.

He visited their channel after finishing said first video and found out they did share the channel but they also uploaded single gaming videos with only one of them playing. He ended up clicking on one of Mickey's videos and maybe he fell a little bit in love with the guy every time he cursed or laughed about his own reactions. Mickey was mostly playing horror games or ego-shooter and the redhead never expected to be interested in the latter but the commentary and simply watching Mickey's reaction was reason enough to watch basically every video up on the channel. In the older video, the brunette had been pretty quiet, awkward with the intro and outro if he did one and he didn't seem too comfortable with the whole thing. But you could basically watch him become more confident and talkative until he talked to the camera like he did to his sister - friendly insults, stupid jokes, horrible puns and quite some nerdy references to basically everything.

...

> _"Hey, welcome back to a new part of 'Until Dawn'. Last time we left off with Josh being disgustingly murdered and now we gotta find a way to get away from this shit_ - _show. I'm still so fucking confused about how he's dead. Like, what the hell?! He was the creepiest dude around and I was sure he was up to something but guess I was wrong."_

Ian couldn't help the grin that pulled at the corners at his lips at the adorably confused face Mickey pulled during the last sentence and he still remembered the brunette's almost outraged reaction at seeing his main suspect die. The death had been disgusting for sure and Ian shuddered at the mere thought of it, but Mickey's reaction had certainly been damn hilarious. The redhead leant back and kept watching the video and he had to admit the game was actually turning out better than expected. It had started out like the usual teenage horror movie with generic characters (the bitch, the playboy, the jock, etc.) but he started to get the feeling that there was more to it and that the story had much more in stock than your typical trash movie scares.

> _"Oh my god, not this fucker again. I always forget he's in the game as well. He's even creepier than Josh."_

The redhead snorted in amusement at Mickey's reaction to Doctor Hill, the psychologist, and how he started to imitate the guy's slightly over the top facial expressions. The brunette also threw in plenty of insults about the Doc and assumptions about what his role in the whole story might be. After the session with Doc Hill, the chapter was over and switched back to Mike, who had arrived at the sanatorium after the whole ordeal with Jess. Mickey huffed a low, kind of victorious " _Hah!_ " and Ian knew it was because the other had been waiting to continue with this part of the story and find out more about the mysterious 'wolf guy'.

> _"Let's see if we get Mike through this alive. I hope so. He was such a tool in the beginning but I think I really start to like this dumbass. He's not a coward, that's for sure. Even though I still don't get why the fuck he would run after this guy instead of trying to get to Jess. I highly doubt she survived the drop, especially with wounds like this, but how can you be sure she's dead and not freezing to death down in the mine now? Not that she would be such a great loss but still..."_

Mickey glanced at the webcam for a second while walking around in the area in front of the sanatorium and made a triumphant sound when he ended up finding another totem. He looked around some more before finally heading towards the building that hopefully would provide some answers to all the questions that were piling up at this point of the game. Ian's eyes always ended up switching between the game and the small window in the corner with Mickey's dimly lit face, his bright blue eyes always glimmering from the mostly dark light from the screen.

> _"Are you fucking kidding me? We can just waltz in the front door? This was a joke! I didn't expect it to actually work. Well...whatever? Probably would've died if we tried the supposedly safe way, huh?"_

Ian watched with an amused grin as the brunette shook his head in disbelieve and manoeuvred his character through the creepy front of the building and towards the door to the chapel with the guy and the two wolves inside. The redhead couldn't decide if he was more invested in the tense moment of the game or the way Mickey started to bite his lower lip before commenting on the stupidity of them being in this place when Mike's girlfriend might be in need of help - if she wasn't a bloody pulp at the end of the elevator shaft.

He was kind of disappointed when the episode was over already at the end of the scene with Mike in the sanatorium, even though he didn't need more gruesome moments like chopping off fingers with a machete but befriending the wolf did make a little up for it - especially because the brunette seemed happy about making the right decision to not kick the wolf but trust it wouldn't actually hurt Mike.

> _"That's it for this episode. I'm tempted to record more and figure this shit out - hopefully with Mike still alive but he's a lucky idiot so I'm sure he's fine - buuut I gotta run. Also, I'm gonna record something else with Mands later and need to get real life stuff done until then. I hope you liked the episode and screw everyone who wants to complain about me decisions_ again _. Play the game yourself if you don't like what you see, douchebags. Anyway, until next time."_

As usual, Mickey flipped off the camera with a cheeky grin and Ian couldn't help but pause the video right there to stare at the, in his opinion, damn gorgeous features of the young gamer like the creep he probably was by now. Admittedly, the redhead did find Mickey attractive and he tended to fanboy about him every now and then which was fucking ridiculous but how could he not? The guy was simply amazing and he seemed like someone whose company would be damn enjoyable - sadly Ian would never find out about if that assumption was true but he was convinced of its truth nevertheless.

***

> _"I fucking hate this bitch! Seriously, how can one person be this infuriating?! Why couldn't I just kill her with the damn axe?!"_

Another day, another episode of Until Dawn and Ian couldn't stop laughing at Mickey's angry outbursts towards Emily's behaviour. This girl definitely had a pretty awful character and the redhead couldn't understand why Matt was in a relationship with her - she treated him like shit. Somehow even managed to get pulled into the story and the characters more and more while everything developed and it was amusing to see the brunette getting invested as well.

> _"I really, really want to push her off this cliff. Does that make me a bad person? But judging by the comments I'm not the only one."_

After the two characters had left the cable car station behind and went up the hill, Mickey led them right and the redhead couldn't help but point in the other direction with a mumbled "But there's something as well..." and immediately felt stupid for talking to a recorded video. As if the brunette would hear him and turn around. Maybe he was going nuts from too many horror game videos or he was already more invested than necessary. But it was unexpectedly involving to watch someone else play a game. Ian's lips pulled into a grin when Mickey cursed at the literal cliff-hanger of the scene with Matt and Emily but he admittedly was damn curious as well to find out how this would play out and what the hell was up with the creepy deer.

***

Ian's gaze always darted to the clock near the door of the small coffee shop where he worked part-time as a barista but he was admittedly unfocused today because he knew when he got home there would be a 'special announcement video' from _mlkvchLP_ waiting to be watched that they mentioned a few days earlier on their Twitter. He honestly had no clue what this could be about but it had to be something important because they rarely made vlogs or announcement videos, therefore he spend the whole day guessing what might be the occasion of this exception. But he had to wait for his shift to finally end and get back home to find out the answer to this mystery. Of course, it had to be a pretty slow shift with only a few customers so the time refused to pass and it was ridiculous how nervous he was about this ominous announcement.

It was almost an hour later when the redhead finally shut the door to his tiny apartment with a relieved sigh. He got rid of his jacket and shoes, threw the backpack aside and pushed the button to start up his laptop. As usual, he used the time for the device to start to get something to drink from the kitchen before slumping down in his old but comfy desk chair. Drumming his fingers restlessly against the tabletop, Ian took a few sips of his drink and it felt like way too long until the browser was finally open. At least it didn't take long to find the video and the redhead clicked it while leaning back and grinning, as soon as the familiar faces of Mandy and Mickey popped up on the screen.

> _Mandy: Hi guys and welcome to the long anticipated, very important announcement video. I saw many of you already speculated what this might be about and I don't think anyone guessed right - at least not that I've seen - but--"_
> 
> _Mickey: Jesus, get to the point already. I'm pretty sure nobody watches this to hear you rant about shit._
> 
> _Mandy: Shut up! We have to build the tension before the great reveal._
> 
> _Mickey: That's such bullshit. We got the opportunity to attend next year's Pax East in Boston. That's all there is. We'll be there, maybe even get a booth, and if people want to meet us for whatever reasons - drop by._

Ian breathed a soft chuckle at the brunette's exasperated expression but he also felt the excitement building up about the mere thought of an opportunity to meet those two - especially to meet Mickey. Yes, he could admit he had some kind of crush on the guy and it was probably creepy because they didn't know each other, Mickey didn't even know he existed, but he simply wanted to meet him to say hi and shake his hand. Also, say thanks for the great entertainment and upgrade to his curse word vocabulary.

> _Mandy: You have absolutely no sense for drama, douchebag!_
> 
> _Mickey: 'course I don't. Being dramatic is your job anyway._

Ian chuckled at the sibling's friendly banter and Mandy's exasperated eye-roll. He knew this behaviour very well thanks to his own siblings and watch those two act this way around each other always caused a sense of familiarity in the redhead. Mandy shook her head and decided to end this part of the conversation right there, turned back towards the camera and promised to keep everybody updated with more details via twitter and that they probably would mention it in their upcoming videos as well. Of course, as soon as Ian finished watching the video, he immediately looked up when exactly the Pax East was held and, most importantly, how much money he had to get his hands on to get there. Because there was no way he could miss this maybe single chance to meet Mickey in person and his ridiculous crush absolutely forbid this from happening. But it might be getting a little difficult to make this happen thanks to financial reasons. Boston wasn't exactly close and if he didn't want to spend a whole day to get there he had to go by plane and that was quite the opposite of cheap.

After researching a little, Ian came to the conclusion that he had to get at least 550$ if he cut down to just one day at the convention and without getting a motel room for one night. If he wanted a three-day pass, he had to calculate about 700$ because he would need a place to stay the night and he already highly doubted the first option would be manageable. Especially because he had to buy the convention ticket soon or they might sell out. So it didn't matter if he had a few months left to earn some extra money, he had to decide on his plan beforehand. Ian ruffles his hair with a deep sigh before he decided to call it a day and think about a plan the next day. The excitement about _maybe_ being able to meet Mickey in person was severely dampened by the realisation that it would be fucking difficult to really make it possible. The redhead shut down his laptop and got ready for bed but spent some time reading a text for one of his classes because he knew he wouldn't be able to fall asleep right away anyway with the convention stuff on his mind.

***

> _"Ho-ly crap!! What the fuck?! How is he-- How did he-- What the fuck is going on?!"_

Ian's eyebrows had climbed quite a bit higher towards his hairline at the unexpected development of Until Dawn but he couldn't resist laughing softly at the brunette's reaction - utter disbelieve plastered across his expressive features, eyebrows drawn together and lips slightly parted. Ian didn't want to admit that this sight made his heart rate pick up a little and the thought of wanting to kiss those full lips popped up in his head. God, he was already way too gone on someone be basically didn't even know. Mickey kept on mumbling some more nonsense, paused the game and took a deep breath before directing his bright blue eyes at the camera.

> _"So, this was unexpected, to say the least._ But _seems like I was right about Josh being behind this shit! Hah! Still, I'm not sure how the fuck he managed to fake his own death. You gotta give him credit for a damn convincing performance."_

He watched Mickey run his tattooed fingers through his hair and grinned slightly at the fact that the other always started his recording sessions with properly styled hair and by the end of most recordings he looked like he just rolled out of bed. Mickey had the habit of touching his hair when he was aggravated, confused or otherwise emotional about things happening in the game and sometimes Ian wondered how it might feel if he could be the one to dig his fingers into the dark strands of soft looking hair.

> _"This explains a lot and especially why he invited all of them back to the lodge. That bugged me from the very beginning. Everyone, except for Christ and Sam, were involved in Hannah's prank and therefore kinda responsible for the sister's disappearance. I wouldn't want those people's company after the shit they pulled. But now it makes sense. He might be nuts but the plan worked pretty well - it was a shitty way of revenge and so over the top but I get the basic urge to somehow get back at them. Considering the fact that he already had a history of mental illness...the stuff with his sisters must've tipped him over the edge completely."_

Ian had to admit he was surprised about the gamer being compassionate towards Josh but it was a good kind of surprise. It showed how much thought Mickey put into the game that he thought to be typical, boring teenage horror at first. But he had let himself get swept away by the unexpected development and gotten into the game, gave the character the chance to prove him wrong about his first impressions of them and the redhead honestly enjoyed watching him play.

...

When this episode of the game came to an end, there was another surprise announcement waiting for Ian, whose mouth dropped open at Mickey's words before he said his goodbyes.

> _"Before we wrap this episode up, there's a thing I gotta tell you...Well, it's actually an announcement from me and Mandy, but whatever. She got the idea into her head that we should finally give in to people asking for a live stream and we're not yet sure when exactly but probably around the last weekend of this month. Mandy said something about putting up a poll on Twitter to find out which day suits more people, so, check that for more information but there will certainly be another video to tell you the set date._

The redhead really hoped they wouldn't decide on Friday because he had university and a shift in the coffee shop so he would most definitely miss the stream. The brunette mentioned something about them doing horror games or maybe a multiplayer during the stream or even something where the viewers could participate online but only of they figured out a fair method to give everyone the same chance to join. Ian didn't care too much about what would be done and he didn't want to participate himself because he sucked at everything that was remotely serious but it was a nice idea for people who actually were gamers themselves. Mainly he was just looking forward to seeing his favourite YouTubers live and maybe getting a message in the chat through to them.

Okay, to be really honest it was mainly seeing Mickey he cared about and by this point, it was probably completely useless to deny the ridiculously huge crush he had on this guy. And he was pretty sure that even if he were to meet Mickey at the convention, that there was not the tiniest chance in hell to get his attention any more than anyone else - Ian knew his luck and that meant the guy was straight as an arrow. Fuck his life, his useless taste in men (straight _and_ out of reach was new, though) and his stubbornness, because nothing would keep him from at least trying his best to get to that convention, no matter how disappointed he would be in the end for not succeeding in leaving at least a small (good!) impression. Developing feelings for someone who didn't even know he existed, yet, was certainly a new low, even for him.

***

> _Mickey: No! No, no, no! That's NOT how you're supposed to-- Mandy, STOP IT!! Oh my god..._
> 
> _Mandy: What's your problem? It works, so what's the big deal. Scared I'm faster through this level than you?_
> 
> _Mickey: Bitch, you wish! Nobody ever tell you that you don't rush through a game with fucking monsters that react to movement, sounds and light? This just screams to get your face eaten off by one of those things. And then you're gonna blame me when you get scared shitless again when--_

Mickey couldn't even finish his sentence before, like he predicted, a monster popped up out of nowhere and all but tore Mandy's character apart with some fucking disgusting squishing, ripping-of-flesh noises. Ian pulled a disgusted face and still couldn't help but snort a laugh because Mandy had let out a pretty high pitched scream at the monster's appearance and her brother almost fell off his chair because her reaction startled him - and probably damaged his hearing on one side in the process, if the way he was rubbing his ear was any indication.

> _Mickey: See? Told you it doesn't work that way. But noooo, you're the pro at horror games because you played_ Barbie's Winter Wonderland _often enough to make a blind speed-run of it by now, right?_
> 
> _Mandy: First, I never played any_ Barbie _games! Second, I never said I'm a pro at this shit. And third, you're just mad it took so long until my first death. I'm pretty sure when you played this game it was maybe ten minutes into it when you started screaming at the screen for the first time because you got killed._
> 
> _Mickey: Shut the fuck up! And I didn't die ten minutes into the game because at least the first twenty are still tutorial and it's impossible to die during that part._
> 
> _Mandy: Then it would be even more impressive to get yourself killed already._

Ian grinned at the siblings' banter and leant back in his chair, breathing out a soft sigh. He missed at least half an hour of the stream because he got home late from his shift at the coffee shop but he almost sprinted home as soon as he was allowed to leave. And now he could enjoy Mickey giving his sister shit for her way of playing the horror game he chose while sipping at a glass of cola.

> _Mandy: Why do I have to start at this point again?! This is so far back in the story._
> 
> _Mickey: Because that's your last check-point, obviously. Listen to me next time and you don't have to re-do all this shit because you got yourself unnecessarily killed._
> 
> _Mandy: Look at the chat, people tell you to leave me the fuck alone. Listen to your fans!_
> 
> _Mickey: They are on you side, so they're you fans - nope, not gonna listen. And don't ignore the comments laughing at you stupidity. Better listen to the ones telling you to respect you older brother and his wisdom._
> 
> _Mandy: Wisdom? That's what they call it nowadays? Could swear the word you actually mean is_ bullshit _._
> 
> _Mickey: You gonna talk all day or get on with the game before everyone fell asleep?_

Mandy's reply was a first to her brother's shoulder and then she concentrated fully on the events on the screen again. This time, she was noticeably more careful and not rushing through the chapter again to hopefully avoid another horribly disgusting death-scene.

...

One hour later the siblings were about ten minutes into a discussion about what game to play next and whether only Mickey should play or both. The redhead was sitting in front of his computer with a bowl of ramen in front of him, blowing at the hot noodles before slurping them down, snickering every now and then at the bickering happening on his screen. In the end, Mandy decided to simply start a poll on Twitter, asking which of the three games everything seemed to come down to should be played next. One of them had a multiplayer option so they could play together and Mickey would play alone if one of the other two was to be chosen by their viewers. Of course Ian couldn't resist heading to his own Twitter account - he barely used this thing and only made it to follow a few people and read their stuff, not to post much himself - and after giving it a little thought he decided on one of the single player games, just because they sounded a lot more interesting. And he knew there would be a multiplayer game anyway because the plan to invite some of the viewers to play with the siblings still stood, as far as he knew.

> _Mickey: And now...what? We just sit on our asses for half an hour and wait for the result?_
> 
> _Mandy: Basically, but let's make it twenty. Also, we could talk about stuff instead of just 'sitting on our asses'. Or we start a short flash game to kill the time._
> 
> _Mickey: I don't care, as long as you don't start some shit like_ Cookie Clicker _or_ Candy Crush _._
> 
> _Mandy: Because the latter is such an evil thing - that's why you're like a hundred levels ahead of me, right?_
> 
> _Mickey: Shut the fuck up and start a damn game! Jesus Christ. And, just for the record, I'm only about twenty levels ahead...maybe thirty._

Ian almost choked on his dinner at the slightly flustered glare Mickey sent his now full on laughing sister after her reveal that he actually played something like _Candy Crush_. Admittedly, the redhead couldn't think of anyone who didn't at least have the damn game on their phone. It was pretty aggravating to play most of the time when you were stuck on a level for days or even weeks but at least it was a way to kill some time waiting at the register in a store or sat in a doctor's office or whatever. It was better than staring into nothingness and trying to kill time with whatever thoughts your brain came up with.

Ignoring her brother's annoyed huff, Mandy finally opened some browser game for them to play until the poll was done. It was just one of those flash games that were enough fun to get some time to pass and Ian watched the chat move across his screen with all the mostly random messages people typed in hopes of getting the attention of the siblings. Mandy basically forced her brother to play and she used the time to read the chat, check the poll and update Twitter with what was currently going on in the live stream, including the link to the stream.

> _Mickey: What the fuck am I even playing here?!_
> 
> _Mandy:_ Toss the turtle _, obviously._
> 
> _Mickey: Okay, let me rephrase that -_ why _am I blasting a fucking turtle into the air and shoot at it with a damn slingshot?!_
> 
> _Mandy: Because, as the title suggests, the game is about tossing the turtle as far as possible. You can buy upgrades over time that help you get the turtle further._
> 
> _Mickey: ...I probably don't even want to know why you know this game._

Ian snickered at the disbelieving little shake of Mickey's had and his resigned sigh when he clicked to shoot the turtle for the second time. The brunette's eyebrows shot towards his hairline when this time the turtle ended its way by getting impaled by a bunch of spikes on the ground, leaving the drawn animal in a bloody, slightly twitching pile. Such a lovely game.

Mickey played the game for a few rounds and Mandy even had to force him to stop playing when the poll was done and most had voted for one of the single-players. Of course, the horror game and not the shooter because seeing Mickey jump at curse at cheap scares was much more entertaining. Ian, pretty easily affected by jump scares as well, luckily just finished his noodles and leant back to watch the brunette start up the game with a playful glare at the camera after his sister had announced the poll's result.

While watching Mickey trying to not get killed by some ugly-ass monsters, Ian's thoughts drifted to the upcoming convention again and he really, really hoped he would be able to go and meet Mickey. Even five minutes of talking to the handsome brunette would make everything worth it - working overtime, the journey, the money; everything. He just _had_ to go!


End file.
